The Yankees utility players, Ronald
Torreyes (0.3 WAR), Tyler Wade (-0.1 WAR) and Neil Walker (-0.1 WAR) had a
combined WAR of .1 in 2018, and while they are all serviceable as utility
players or as players off the bench, this is an area where the Yankees could use
an upgrade in 2019.

The Yankees will have lofty expectations in 2018

After the wild ride that
was the 2017 Yankees’ season, we are now about a month into the MLB offseason.
This is an offseason that will be very important for the future of the
franchise and after the somewhat shocking decision to move on from Joe Girardi and hire Aaron Boone,
the decisions they make in the coming months will have even greater importance
going forward. Even though the Yankees fell short in the ALCS and ended their
season in disappointing fashion, overall, they exceeded their expectations for
the year. With the core of their group still so young and with more young
players vying for a role on next years team, the 2018 Yankees still have a lot
to determine about their team before an inning of baseball is played. Despite the
uncertainty of their roster and the added pressure of a managerial change
coming off such a successful season, the 2018 Yankees will face lofty
expectations heading into the season.

Credit: Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday

The 2017 Yankees were not
expected to be a contending team. With so many young players on the roster they
were expected to be exciting to watch but also take their lumps and go through
growing pains. That is obviously not the way it played out. Carried by the bats
of young studs like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez and by the arm of Luis Severino,
the Yankees put a scare into the league with how ready it seemed they were to compete.
Although they faced their struggles the team always seemed ready to fight and
come back stronger. This was evidenced by their remarkable comebacks in the
playoffs against the Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros. Although they ultimately fell
short against the Astros, the Yankees effectively put the league on notice last
year, the Baby Bombers are coming to take over MLB.

The decision to move on
from Joe Girardi was a jarring one for many Yankees fans and although Brian
Cashman has been doing great work these last few years, there is a lot of
pressure on him to nail this hire. There may not be another team in MLB that
would move on from their manager after such a successful run at the helm, but the
Yankees are doing this because they feel that they’re ready to contend right now. The hiring of a manager with no experience like Aaron Boone may be surprising but the Yankees are betting on Boone being able to forge strong relationships with their young core players and help them continue to grow into leaders of the team moving forward.

Credit: Nick Turchiaro/USA Today Sports

Although he has no prior managerial experience Boone has a lot of things going for him. He is a baseball lifer who has seen the game extensively as a player and as an analyst. He also comes from a family of baseball players including his brother Brett who was an All-Star infielder, and his father Bob who was a major league catcher and managed as well. Having them in his corner for support and advice could be very helpful as he begins his managerial career. He also has some familiarity with the Yankees organization. Even if it was only for part of one season, the Yankees operate differently than other organizations and have different expectations. Having some first hand experience with that environment is a big plus for someone who will face a learning curve from day one. Once Boone is signed and officially in the fold, he can begin to fill out his coaching staff and we will have more information to evaluate as we look forward to 2018.

There are also other uncertainties
to keep an eye on as we look towards next year. Will Aaron Judge be able to
replicate his incredible, MVP caliber season and was his shoulder surgery a big
deal? Will Gary Sanchez improve on his defense? Will Luis Severino be able to
maintain the ace-like form he displayed last year? Can Greg Bird stay healthy and how
will Brian Cashman sort out the outfield log jam and create room for other
young players on the way? These are serious questions and we won’t get the
answer to some of them until the season starts.

Credit: Jim McIsaac

What I do know is this,
the Yankees are in a very good spot right now and if their core players perform
to the level that they did last season they will be contending again next year.
Although it’s the teams goal to make it to the World Series every year, the
pressure will surely be greater next season after falling just one game short a
season ago. The young kids on the roster displayed remarkable resiliency in the
face of mounting pressure and expectations a season ago and there is no doubt
that pressure will be even greater next year. Although there are some
complicating factors and reasons for uncertainty, the organization seems to
believe that it is ready to step up and meet those expectations, but only time
will tell.

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The scene was set for the
young budding Bomber squad last fall after finishing their season a game away
from a World Series berth. They were the team that arrived a year too early,
and another deep playoff run would be the goal, but then an old friend threw a
wrench in those plans. Derek Jeter put gargantuan slugger Giancarlo Stanton on
the market, and Stanton dictated his transfer with a full no-trade clause. The
Giants and Cardinals among others threw their name into the ring, but who did
he choose? The Yankees and Dodgers, it seemed to be a battle of baseballs
powerhouses, but the Yankees had an advantage over their former neighbors,
payroll flexibility. They were able to use this into an absolute steal of the
reigning NL MVP, and the Yankees were thrust into a world series or bust year.
The season was historic, they set the season home run record without Gary
Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Greg Bird, and Aaron Judge for most if not all of the
year, but it ended in a bust at the hands of…

The
speculation started during the regular season, even prior to his trade from the
Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Where would Manny Machado go upon
his free agency at the end of the 2018 regular season? And, with that, which
teams would be knocking on his door? No
sooner did the Yankees’ regular season come to a close after their fated ending
in the American League Division Series, the talks of Machado coming to the
Bronx took off as though pushed by a speeding 4 Train behind Yankee Stadium. The
truth of the matter is that the rumors started even prior to Machado’s free
agency being on the horizon -- they started
at the trade deadline.

Yankee fans are left with more questions than answers following Clint Frazier’s injury riddled 2018. Frazier suffered through concussion symptoms throughout his 2018 campaign, which saw him appear in 69 games between the minors and the big leagues. Now, Yankees fans wonder what 2019 will hold for the 24 year-old.

Miguel Andujar’s 2018
arrival in the big leagues on April 1st had been much anticipated by Yankee
fans and we were rewarded with a Rookie of the Year performance by one of the
most exciting players in all of Major League Baseball.

Corey Kluber is the difference
maker and impact arm the Yankees need atop their rotation. In 2017 and
2018, Yankee fans wished ace-like status on Luis Severino, but his
inconsistencies have left him just short of owning the name. Kluber, 32,
has been the definition of consistent for the Cleveland Indians, winning 18+
games four out of the last five years and winning 20 games in 2018 for the
first time in his career. Kluber has posted an ERA below 3.50 every season
since 2014, and has struck out at least 220 hitters in the same span. Kluber
keeps getting better, and is not showing any signs of regression. Kluber is an
ace, the ace the Yankees need.

There’s
no easy way to answer this question. Or, rather, there’s no one answer. The
surrounding factors change, creating different situations and, as such,
different fits -- both from a financial and from a team standpoint. A case can
be made to bring back either of these free agents, or both of them, or…
neither. But it’s almost impossible to make a blanket answer that fits in every
possible scenario.

It
felt like a shoe-in. So much so, in fact, that I advocated
for what I thought was the inevitable all the way back in September, before the
BBWAA even announced the nominees for American League Rookie of the Year.

First acquired in a relatively
small-time, 40-man sell-off move around this time last year that sent 1B
Garrett Cooper and LHP Caleb Smith to Miami, Michael King was seen as a young
right hander with promise, but one still years away from making any significant
Major League impact.At the time, the
important part of that trade was the $250,000 international bonus pool money
Miami included, which we all thought was to be used on Shohei Ohtani.Ohtani, obviously, never ended up in the Bronx
and will not pitch at all in 2019 after undergoing offseason Tommy John
Surgery.

Flashback to July 3rd -
the Mariners had just won their eighth consecutive game, putting them 20 games
above .500 and in possession of the third-best record in baseball. Everything
was going right in Seattle, and it surely seemed as if the M’s infamous 17-year
playoff drought would finally come to an end. Just two and a half months later
on September 22nd, the Mariners were eliminated from playoff contention,
following a dreadful summer slump and the concurrent surge of the
division-rival Athletics.

I
cannot count the number of times I tweeted about the Yankees and their problem
with RISP and situational offense over the course of the 2018 season. Of
course, the Yankees won 100 games on the regular season, and that statistic is
nothing to sniff at. They also claimed the single-season home run record. And
that’s great.